Who'd have thought?
by Wolfpatronus
Summary: Lily Evan's is starting her fifth year at Hogwarts. Her relationship with her best friend Severus is getting rocky and she's been getting a lot of attention from that insufferable toerag, Potter. As strange things start to happen, she is forced to work with James to uncover the truth. Will she finally see past his childish behavior and see that he can be serious? Jily and marauders
1. The engorgement charm

**Chapter One- The enorgement charm**

It was Lily's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, yet still as she ran through the wall between platforms 9 and 10, her breath was taken away by the beautiful scarlet steam train that billowed smoke in front of her. After hugging both of her parents goodbye and getting a cold glare off her sister, Petunia, Lily boarded the Hogwarts express. She was early, of course. Lily Evans was never late. A few compartments held nervous first years, but she didn't have to walk too far down the corridor before she found one that was empty. Sliding in, she heaved her trunk up into the holding rack, unclasped it and pulled out her copy of The standard book of spells Grade 5.

Slowly the Hogwarts express started to fill with students and the sound of excited chatter spread through train. This didn't bother Lily, she was to engrossed in her book to notice. That was until the shrieking started. As the train pulled out of the station, there was deafening laughter in the corridors. It sounded like everyone aboard was laughing. Curiously, Lily set her book aside and stood up, sliding the compartment door open. She stared down the crowded corridor and groaned. Everyone was pointing and giggling at a tall, greasy haired boy half walking, half jogging towards her. One hand was carrying his trunk whilst the other shielded his face as best he could.

"Severus, what the...?!" Lily gasped as she pulled a red-faced Snape into the compartment and slammed the door shut. It wasn't like Lily to get angry, but she knew immediately the gist of what had happened and her knuckles clenched furiously. _Potter!_

It took a whole five minutes for her to pull Severus' hand away from his face. The sight wasn't pretty. "Oh Severus, what have they done to you?" Severus' already pointy nose stuck out to twice its usual length, making him look like a goblin. Lily's eyes were wide with pity. "It's nothing." Severus said quickly, picking up Lily's book and hiding his face in it. His voice was bitter. Lily knew it most certainly wasn't nothing. "They can't keep bullying you like this! It's not fair!" She leapt to her feet and stormed into the corridor. "Lily don't, just leave it." Severus pleaded after her, but it was too late, she was already marching down the corridor. _They're not getting away with this._

By the time Lily found _his_ compartment, the train was speeding out of London. "Potter!" Lily growled furiously, causing all four of them to jump in their seats. Berty Bott's every flavour beans went flying in every direction and Peter Pettigrew, a small, chubby boy started choking on his liquorice wand. Lily allowed herself a small grin whilst the others collected themselves together. ' _Ha, serves them right!'_ she thought.

Remus Lupin, a thin, pale boy with a kind face, was the first to answer. "Oh hello Lily, nice summer?" Out of the four of them, Lily had the most patience for Remus. He tended to cause the least trouble and sometimes managed to stop James from doing anything stupid. "Not bad thank you." She replied distractedly. Her eyes were fixed on the taller boy with messy black hair that stood up at every angle. He had rounded glasses and an annoyingly smug grin plastered across his face. "What brings you here Evans?" James smirked, running a hand through his hair and managing to mess it up even more. Lily hated it when he did that. Hadn't the toerag ever heard of a brush? It was clear that James knew exactly why she was there.

"Now you listen here Potter!" She said, pointing a finger at him and stepping forward. James stood up so that her finger was now inches from his chest. He was well built from playing so much quidditch, and easily stood a foot taller than Lily, but she was not one to be intimidated. Her eyes narrowed as his grin widened. "You leave Severus alone. I mean it!" She jabbed her finger against James' chest. Sirius Black, James' best friend and partner in crime chuckled. "Aww come on, we were only having a little fun with Snivellus. If you ask me it's a BIG improvement!" Sirius, James and Peter all laughed, but Lily had had enough. "Fun? You've turned him into a real life Pinocchio!" Their faces turn blank with confusion, except for Remus' who looked ashamed. She rolled her eyes. Of course they wouldn't know who Pinocchio, that was only a story a muggleborn would know. Remus was a half blood though, he knew exactly what she meant.

"You're all just horrible little bullies. Especially you Potter. I think it's time you grow up and start thinking about others besides yourself." As soon as the words were out, Lily felt a twinge of guilt. Well it was true that James needed to grow up, but she knew it wasn't true that James' only thought of himself. In fact that was one of the reasons, as much as she disliked James, why she could never hate him. She admired greatly the way James would stick up for his friends. He was always there in times of trouble and would sacrifice himself for any of them.

James' grin vanished and he took a step back, shock in his eyes. "Lily I..." But Lily didn't want to hear it. She turned on the spot and left the four boys staring in surprise after her.


	2. The empty chair

**Chapter 2 - The empty chair**

The sun was almost set when the Hogwarts express pulled into Hogsmede. Lily had noticed that Severus had been a little off with her on the journey up. I mean sure, he wasn't happy about his ridiculously large nose, but that wasn't Lily's fault. Whenever she tried to start a conversation, he'd reply with a shrug or a one word answer. "For goodness sake Severus, what's the matter with you?" She asked exasperated and they got off the train and started making their way over to the carriages. "Nothing." Severus mumbled, keeping his eyes down and his hand over his nose. "Yes there is." Lily argued, wanting to know what's eating him up. Severus' eyebrows knitted together. "Drop it." He whispered in a low voice. "No, I'm your best friend and you've hardly said a word to me. Tell me what the matter is!" She huffed. Severus snapped. His eyes lifted and he gave Lily a hard look. "I just don't need you fighting my battles for me, alright?! You make me look even stupider. I don't need some girl to defend me. Just... just leave me alone!"

Lily felt like she had been punched in the gut. Where had that come from? She watched as he marched off towards Mulciber and Avery, two Slytherins he knew she despised. Severus didn't look back at his best friend. Reaching up, Lily wiped the tear from her cheek and tried to ignore the hurt in her chest. How could Severus' be so mad at her? She was only sticking up for him. " _I don't need some girl to defend me."_ The words played over and over in her head, stinging, as she trudged over to a carriage.

The carriage she entered was occupied by Lily's close friend and fellow Gryffindor, Alice, and her boyfriend Frank. "Lily, how are you? How was your summer? Guess what, my parents bought me a pygmy puff over the summer and I taught her how to hum to the Green eyed Witched." Alice chattered on happily the whole ride up to the castle and Lily soon cheered up, casting Severus from her mind.

Like normal, Lily and the rest of the students filed into the great hall for the sorting ceremony. She tried hard to concentrate as the sorting hat began to sing, but across the long table, Sirius and James were being very distracting. They had their hands cupped over their mouths and were whispering to each other. They were loud enough so she could hear, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Oi." She hissed under her breath. "What are you two whispering about?" Both James and Sirius looked up. "Oh just about how dazzling you look tonight Evans." James beamed. He was obviously over her insult on the train. Lily rolled her eyes, her cheeks reddening. Alice giggled beside her. Sirius made a gagging sound but James was un-phased. He leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands and stared into Lily's eyes. Her breath caught and for a split second she felt lost as she gazed back at James. _Snap out of it!_ She shook her head quickly and folded her arms over her chest. "No you weren't." She replied as the sorting hat shouted 'Ravenclaw!' "Tell me."

James faked a heavy sigh and finally broke his gaze, staring up the ceiling of the night sky. "Fine. We were just saying how there's an empty chair up where the teacher's are sat." He was putting on a dramatic voice. Lily glanced to where the teacher's sat and noticed one was empty. Turning back to James, she shrugged. "So?" She asked, not understanding why this was cause for concern. "Gryffindor!" The sorting hat yelled.

"So where is Professor Quirrel?" James whispered, his eyes shifting back down to Lily's. Professor Quirrel had started teaching Muggle Studies at Hogwarts in Lily's second year. He was a nervous man who found it very difficult to keep order in his classes. He was very much picked on by other students, especially James and his band of miscreants. Lily raised an eyebrow, still not sure why this was something to be whispering about. "I don't know. He's probably ill or something." She suggested. "Hmmm." James replied. He looked back at Sirius, clearly not satisfied with that explanation. Lily just rolled her eyes. No doubt they were thinking up some wild story in their heads about how poor Professor Quirrel had been eaten by a minotaur or was plotting to blow up the school.

Lily's attention returned to the sorting hat just as it announced the house of the last student. There was a loud applause as the pink-faced boy hurried over to the Slytherin table and then Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat. He delivered a short, and quite frankly bizarre speech which was then followed by a spectacular feast.

Every now and again Lily's eyes met with Severus' across the hall and he'd give her an apologetic look. Lily however decided that apologies could wait until tomorrow.

Once everyone had stuffed themselves to the max, students began making their way to their dormitories for bed. Lily was sure she wouldn't make it up the Gryffindor tower after five scoops of butterscotch ice cream and a helping of fire cake. "I'm so full." She groaned to Alice, who was clutching at her own stomach.

"Need a hand their Evans?" A voice came from behind her. Lily's teeth gritted as she felt a long arm wrap around her waist. "Not from you." She snapped, instantly pushing James off her. James was in high spirits, although it was rare that he wasn't. He began to walk backwards in front of Alice and Lily. Lily couldn't help but imagine him tripping up and landing flat on his butt. A smile crossed her lips at the thought. "I meant what I said before Evans, you look dazzling tonight. But that smile really completes the look." He winked. Lily blushed hard. Normally she would've flipped out and called him a toerag, but instead she just rolled her eyes. She'd had a fantastic meal, she was back with her friends, and excited to start her fifth year at Hogwarts. She was very content.


	3. The substitute teacher

**Chapter 3 - The substitute teacher**

The first week of term flew by in Lily's opinion. She knew she was taking on a lot of classes, but she felt determined to exceed in her end of year NEWTS. "Merlin's beard! Is that your timetable?" Alice exclaimed, peering over Lily's shoulder at the neat parchment. It was a frosty Thursday morning and a thin layer of ice covered the Hogwarts grounds. Lily, who had chosen to take Muggle Studies, Study of Ancient Runes and Care of magical creatures alongside the mandatory classes, charms, transfiguration, potions, herbology, history of magic, defence against the dark arts AND astronomy, just shrugged. "They're all fascinating." She grinned and rolled up her parchment, stuffing it into her cloak. Alice still looked stunned.

They reached the first floor and made their way over to the muggle studies classroom. Stood outside were a few Ravenclaws who they shared the lesson with and...  
"Potter? What in Merlin's name are you doing here? You hate muggle studies!"  
Since boarding the train, Lily had been getting more frustrated with James than ever. He just kept popping up between lessons, making her jump or telling her how lovely she looked. It was driving Lily insane. It was common knowledge that muggle studies was James' least favourite subject. He was a very bright student, that is if he could be bothered to listen. He often came top of the class alongside Lily. But everyone knew he despised muggle studies. Being pure-blood, James had never really had any real contact with muggles and struggled to understand anything about them. Watching James struggle last year has been one of Lily's highlights. In their fourth year James had given up trying to understand the importance of electricity and instead taken it upon himself to wind Professor Quirrel up in any way possible.

James turned automatically and grinned as he watched Lily walk over. "Evans, you've chosen muggle studies too? What a surprise."  
Lily raised an eyebrow. James was not even a little bit surprised. It was clear he knew she'd taken this subject. Was that why he'd picked it too? Because he knew she was taking it. Lily frowned, no that would be totally stupid. Why would he do that? James watched Lily in amusement as she puzzled it over, but he offered no explanation.

The door to the classroom swung open and a short, skinny man with a balding head and fierce black eyes peered out. "All right students, in you come."  
"Where's professor Quirrel?" Alice whispered to Lily. Lily couldn't help but glance at James as she remembered the sorting ceremony and his unexplainable interest in a certain missing teacher. For once though, James was paying her no attention. He was already walking into the classroom, his eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought as he stared at the new teacher.  
"No idea." Lily murmured and followed in after him.

As they took their seats, a piece of chalk rose in the air and began to glide over the blackboard in front of them. It wrote 'Professor Calibrus'.  
"My name is Professor Calibrus. I am filling in for Professor Quirrel whilst he is... away on business." The teacher looked around, as if daring anyone to question him. There was no hint of friendliness on his face. Lily couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.  
"In my classes you will study hard, complete all your homework on time, and let me make it quite clear, there will be no foolish behaviour." The professor's eye focused straight on James.

The room was completely silent. A couple of Ravenclaws shared a nervous glance. It was a relief that Lily wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable. She held her breath and looked sideways at James, waiting for him to do or say something stupid. But James just stared back at the teacher, unblinking.

"Right." Professor Calibrus finally continued, breaking eye contact. Half the class jumped as he suddenly cut through the silence. "Computers. Who can tell me a way in which muggles use computers?"

After that the atmosphere became a little more bearable. But Lily hoped Professor Quirrel, wherever he was, wouldn't be away for long. The first half of the lesson was mostly Q&A. Lily's hand rose for every question, knowing the right answer. James was picked on three times. When asked what a computer mouse was used for, he'd answered 'to guard the computer and squeak if anyone tried to steal it.' If it weren't for the Professor's hard, unamused stare, Lily might have laughed. But she didn't. In fact she even felt a little scared for James. The look he was receiving had her worried the new teacher might hex him.

When they were told to get into pairs, Lily surprised even herself as she went to sit next to James. A stunned look momentarily crossed his face but he quickly got a hold of himself and gave her a smirk. "Can I help you Evans?" He said raising an eyebrow.  
Lily just rolled her eyes. "Shut up Potter, I'm just here to make sure you don't make any more of a fool of yourself."

They had the remaining half an hour of the lesson to figure out how to turn on the computer that had been place in front of them, go onto the internet and search for 'frogs legs'. Of course Lily knew exactly what she was doing and did it within five minutes. James wasn't paying any attention. He was transfixed on Professor Calibrus who was now sat at his desk, engrossed in a thick leather-bound book.

"Strange." James muttered to himself.  
"Can you just watch me so you know how to turn on this computer." Lily sighed exasperated, but James ignored her.  
"Very strange." He repeated.  
"What?" She finally asked, turning in her seat. It was at least a minute before James acknowledged her question and moved his eyes to hers. He seemed to become lost again as he gazed into her bright green eyes. Lily clicked her fingers in front of his face. James blinked out of his trance then and he grinned mischievously. "Well I don't think Professor Calibrus is being honest with us." He whispered under his breath.  
Lily frowned. "What are you talking about?"  
"Professor Quirrel." James answered as if this was obvious. "Professor Calibrus said he was away on business, but he's not. He's here, in the castle."  
"You've seen him?" Lily asked, her eyes widening in interest.  
James shook his head. "Well not in person no, but I know." His grin widened.  
Lily's interest died away. Just another one of Potter's stupid theories. "And how, might I ask, do you know he's wandering about the castle if you haven't actually seen him?"  
James leaned closer so that his lips were at her ear, making her shudder involuntarily.  
"That's a secret." He replied before pulling bank and giving her a wink.

'Well what on earth does that mean?' She thought frustrated. 


End file.
